The beginning of the 1720 campaign was characterized by the fact that Sweden almost completely depleted its military potential and became dependent on British diplomacy. London tried to create a broad anti-Russian coalition to "protect Europe" from Russia. On January 21 (February 1), an allied treaty was signed between England and Sweden. London pledged to send a strong squadron to defend Sweden from the Muscovites and to provide subsidies to Stockholm until the end of the war. At the same time, the British believed that they were not at war with Russia, although they sent ships for military operations. It was reported that trade between England and Russia would be preserved. The British promised the Swedish government to return Estonia and Livonia.
At the same time, under pressure from British diplomacy, Sweden signed an agreement with Prussia. The Swedes gave their possessions in Pomerania to Prussia. The Prussian state promised not to provide assistance to Russia. True, King of Prussia Frederick William I was not going to quarrel with Russia. In the summer, a special declaration was issued, which announced that Prussia did not assume any obligations against the Russian state. In addition, at the beginning of 1720, Saxony and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth signed a peace treaty with Sweden.
From the fall of 1719 to July 1720, the British pressured Denmark. London wanted Denmark to enter into an alliance with Sweden against Russia. But the Danes had too much conflict with the Swedes. Only on July 3 (14) Sweden and Denmark signed a peace treaty. Copenhagen received small territories in Schleswig-Holstein, monetary indemnity and resumed collection of duties from Swedish ships for passage through the Strait of Sunda.
In general, the British attempt to create a broad anti-Russian coalition, to involve Prussia, Austria, Poland, Holland and Denmark in the war with Russia was unsuccessful. There were serious contradictions between the countries. Moreover, London's policy was hindered by Paris. Russia, for its part, tried to explain in European capitals that it did not claim territory in Germany. Back in 1719, the Russian forces remaining in Mecklenburg-Pomerania and Poland were withdrawn to Riga. Peter in April 1720 issued a third declaration, which allowed the British to trade in Russia. But London continued its aggressive policy. The Russian envoy in London F. Veselovsky said that the British government is equipping a fleet of 30 pennants, with a crew of more than 9 thousand people.
Peter planned to start hostilities in the winter. For this, it was supposed to send a party of Cossacks across the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia. They were to attack the Swedish coast. Warm winter and weak ice cover forced the Russian command to abandon this plan. Therefore, it was decided to repeat the successful experience of 1719 - the actions of the galley fleet with the landing. On March 4 (15), an action plan was developed. A third of the galleys were to go to the city of Vasya, then cross the Gulf of Bothnia and operate in the Umeå region. It was a distraction. The main forces of the galley fleet were to attack in the area of the city of Gevle. The sailing fleet received the task of covering the actions of the galley fleet.
On April 14 (25), Goft's squadron consisting of 7 ships went on reconnaissance to the shores of Sweden. On April 22 (May 3), an order was sent to Revel to P. M. Golitsyn to prepare the guards regiments and galleys for the campaign. At the end of April, a galley fleet of 105 galleys, 110 island boats, 8 brigantines and a landing force of 24 thousand people left Abo in the direction of the Aland Islands. The active actions of the Russian galley fleet were also facilitated by the messages of the Russian ambassadors B. Kurakin from The Hague and V. Dolgorukov from Copenhagen. They informed Petersburg about the readiness of Sweden and England for the campaign of 1720. According to the ambassadors, Sweden was preparing 24 thousand airborne troops and transport for it. 17 ships were equipped for operations at sea. The Swedish government was awaiting the arrival of the British fleet and aid from the ground forces from Hanover. The ambassadors said that the process of collecting Swedish troops was hampered by the "lack of people", and the British fleet was being delayed.
Therefore, the Russian command acted ahead of the curve. On April 24 (May 5), a detachment of Brigadier Mengden, consisting of 35 galleys with 6, 2 thousand troops, went to the shores of Sweden from Abo. The detachment went to the Swedish coast between Old and New Umeå. Mengden landed an amphibious force that ravaged enemy land to a depth of 30 km. On May 8 (19), the detachment successfully returned to the base. This expedition showed that defending England would not save the Swedish coast from Russian attacks.
On May 12 (23), the British fleet linked up with the Swedish Navy and moved to the shores of Russia. At the end of May 1720, the British-Swedish fleet appeared at Revel. The British squadron consisted of 18 ships of the line (which had from 50 to 90 guns), 3 frigates, 2 bombardment ships, 1 fire ship. The Swedes had 7 ships of the line, 1 pink, 1 bombardment ship and 2 fire ships. Apraksin asked British Admiral Norris about the purpose of the appearance of the fleet at Revel. Norris wrote an answer to the name of Peter, but Apraksin, not having the authority to accept letters addressed to the king, did not take it. Norris wrote a second letter in which he said that the arrival of the British fleet in the Baltic Sea was made solely for the purpose of mediating negotiations between Russia and Sweden. Admiral Apraksin, in his reply, reminded the British that an envoy was being expelled for the diplomatic mission.
While there was a correspondence between the admirals, the British were taking depth measurements to find out the possibility of a landing. They became convinced that an attack on a well-fortified coastline was impossible without significant ground forces. In addition, the British did not know much about the water area of this area. On June 2 (13), Norris received a message about an attack by Russian forces on the Swedish coast (attack by Mengden's detachment) and the allied fleet hastily retreated to Stockholm. The campaign of the Anglo-Swedish fleet ended fruitlessly, except for the burned bath and hut on the island of Nargen, where the allies landed.
The arrival of the British fleet did not change Peter's plans. On June 12 (23), the naval squadron under the command of Goft departed from Kotlin for cruising between Gangut and Rogervik. The galley fleet was taken from the island of Lemland to the coast of Finland until the further actions of the Anglo-Swedish fleet were clarified.
Battle of Grengam July 27 (August 7) 1720
Only a few boats remained in Aland for reconnaissance and patrolling. After leaving the islands of the Russian fleet, Swedish galleys appeared there. One of the Russian boats ran aground and was captured by the enemy. Not a single crew member was captured. But Peter expressed his dissatisfaction and ordered M. Golitsyn to conduct reconnaissance and clear Aland from the Swedes. Aland at that time had two Swedish squadrons: under the command of K. Sjöblad (1 ship of the line, 2 frigates, 2 galleys, galiot, 2 skerboats) and the second under the command of K. Wachmeister (3 battleships, 12 frigates, 8 galleys, 2 brigantines, 1 galiot, 1 shnyava, 1 firebrand and 2 skerboats).
On July 24 (August 4), a Russian squadron under the command of Golitsyn, consisting of 61 galleys and 29 boats with 10, 9 thousand troops, reached Abo. On July 26 (August 6), Russian forces approached the Aland Islands. Reconnaissance boats spotted Sjöblad's Swedish squadron between the islands of Lemland and Friesberg. Due to the strong wind and large waves, it was impossible to attack it, the Russian galley squadron anchored, waiting for good weather so that it could engage in battle with the enemy. But the wind did not subside. The next day, the council of war decided to go to Grengam Island in order to prepare a good position for an attack.
When the Russian galleys began to leave from under the cover of Rödscher Island in the direction of the Flisosund Strait between the islands of Brende and Flisø, Sjöblad's squadron weighed anchor and went to intercept. The forces of the Swedish vice admiral were strengthened and included 14 pennants: 1 battleship, 4 frigates, 3 galleys, 1 shnava, 1 galiot, 1 brigantine, 3 skerboats. The Russian squadron entered the strait, where the movement was complicated by the presence of shoals and reefs. When 4 Swedish frigates marching in the vanguard were drawn into the strait, Golitsyn ordered to attack them. Sheblad followed the frigates on a battleship and, seeing the attack of the Russian forces, ordered to stand in line with the sides to the enemy galleys. Large Swedish ships had a large turning radius and fell into a trap - the frigates "Venkern" (30 guns), "Stor-Phoenix" (34 guns), turning, ran aground. Russian galleys surrounded them and went to board. A fierce battle began to boil. The Swedish ships did not save either the high sides or the boarding nets, the frigates were captured.
Two other Swedish frigates, the 22-gun Kiskin and the 18-gun Dansk-Ern, tried to retreat. But they were prevented by their own flagship. Initially, Schöblad, ignoring the desperate resistance of his frigates, tried to make a turn in the wind and go to the open sea. Then, given the factor that there was no time left for a maneuver, he ordered to drop the anchor without lowering the sails. The ship was turned on the spot, caught the wind. Sheblad ordered to chop off the anchor and go to the open sea. This maneuver closed the way for the Swedish frigates. "Kiskin" and "Dansk-Ern" were also taken on board. Russian galleys also chased after the Swedish flagship, but he was able to escape.
4 enemy frigates were captured, 407 people were taken prisoner, 103 Swedes were killed in battle. The Russian squadron lost 82 killed, 236 wounded. The fierceness of the battle is evidenced by the fact that 43 galleys were damaged in one way or another. This victory made an impressive impression in Western Europe. Europe saw that, even in the presence of the British fleet, the Russians continued to beat Sweden. This was the last major battle of the Northern War.
Medal "In honor of the capture of 4 Swedish frigates near Grengam Island. July 27, 1720".
Peace of Nishtad August 30 (September 10) 1721
After this battle, the Russian fleet withdrew to its bases. The military campaign of 1720 was completed. But the struggle continued on the diplomatic front. In June 1720, the Swedish king Fredrik I of Hesse declared that Sweden could not fight unless, in addition to England, Prussia and France came out on its side. After the Grengam battle, the Swedish government was sobered, the Swedes began to realize that they were mistaken when they did not accept Russia's terms during the negotiations in the Alands and believed the promises of the British, making territorial concessions in favor of Prussia and Denmark. The British government promised a lot, but was not really going to fight. A military demonstration by the British Navy did not yield positive results. It did not work to rally the anti-Russian coalition, there were no people willing to fight for British interests.
In August 1720, Paris, assessing the situation, offered its mediation for the settlement of relations between St. Petersburg. Stockholm and London. This made it possible to increase the influence of France in the region. London was forced to accept the idea of peace negotiations. The British government turned down Stockholm when it offered to leave British ships in Swedish ports for the winter. King George of England wrote a letter to the Swedish king in which he proposed to immediately conclude peace with Russia. In fact, the British deceived the Swedes, because in 1719 and the first half of 1720 they said the opposite and urged Sweden to continue the war, promising all-round support.
On August 9 (20), the Russian representative A. I. Rumyantsev was sent to Sweden. He congratulated Fredrik on his accession to the throne and offered to conclude a temporary truce, exchange prisoners. The Swedish government was disappointed, Stockholm expected Rumyantsev to bring the terms of the peace treaty. Peter was not going to take the initiative in conducting peace negotiations and was waiting for proposals from Sweden. On November 12 (23), Rumyantsev returned to St. Petersburg and informed the tsar that the Swedish government wanted peace. Peter sent a letter to the Swedish king in which he proposed direct negotiations in the Finnish cities of Nystadt or Raumo. Nystadt was chosen as the place of negotiations. The Swedes' hopes that British and French diplomats would help them did not materialize.
The Swedes initially tried to impose their own conditions on Russia: to cede only Ingermanlandia with St. Petersburg, Narva and Kexholm. Russia did not put forward new conditions (apparently, it was a mistake, it was possible to take all of Finland or part of it, punishing Stockholm for the failure of negotiations at the Aland Congress), and firmly stood on the positions of the program put forward at the Aland Congress. Petersburg demanded to give Russia Estland with Revel, Livonia with Riga, Ingermanland, Vyborg and part of Karelia. As before, Russia did not demand that Finland be given to it. In addition, she offered a number of concessions - monetary compensation for Livonia, to give a guarantee that St. Petersburg would not support the claims of Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp to the Swedish throne.
During his visit to Russia, the Swedish envoy Kampredon, who offered preliminary conditions, found out that Stockholm had incorrect information about the state of affairs in the Russian state. Russia is much stronger than Sweden thought. The treasury of the Russian tsar was full. The industry is constantly developing, incomes are growing. According to him, the Russian regular army reached 115 thousand people and was in excellent condition (these data did not differ much from the real numbers, and the Russian Armed Forces were twice as large with the irregular troops). There were 25 thousand soldiers in Finland and the number of the local forces was going to be brought to 40 thousand bayonets. In order to transfer this force to Sweden, Peter had up to 300 galleys and about 1,100 transports. By the 1721 campaign, Russia was ready to deploy 29 battleships, 6 frigates with 2,128 guns. Russian fortress artillery had 8100 guns, only 590 guns defended St. Petersburg. Therefore, Campredon returned to Sweden, believing that it was necessary to conclude peace on the terms proposed by Russia.
Sweden was in a deplorable state. A long war brought the country to financial and economic collapse. The troops did not receive their salaries for a long time, and it was also cut in half. In May 1721, the military openly declared that if they did not receive the money, they would lay down their arms when the Russian forces landed in Sweden. The army and population were demoralized. Only 11 ships of the line could be prepared for the 1721 campaign, the rest were incapable of combat. Rumors began to spread that 20 thousand Austrian, 20 thousand French, 16 thousand English, 10 thousand Danish soldiers were sent to help Sweden. Petersburg could not be fooled with such disinformation - Russia had agents in all European capitals.
On April 24 (May 5), Swedish commissioners arrived in Nystadt - J. Lillenstedt (Lilienstät) and O. Strömfeld. A little later, Russian commissioners arrived there - Yakov Bruce, Andrei Osterman. It should be noted that during these negotiations, the Swedes were waiting, hoping for help from England. London at this time sent a fleet to the Baltic Sea, he was supposed to defend the Swedish coast. At the end of April, the British fleet (25 ships of the line and 4 frigates) stopped at Bornholm Island.
The Russian command decided to put military pressure on the Swedes. On May 17 (28), a detachment under the command of P. Lassi, who had 30 galleys and a number of other ships with 5, 4 thousand troops, landed troops at the Swedish fortress of Gavle. The Russian landing ravaged the Swedish possessions and reached Umeå without encountering resistance. Swedish troops retreated without a fight. On July 17 (28), the Lassi detachment returned successfully. This raid had a huge moral impact on Sweden. Lassi said Sweden is in "great fear." The entire northeastern coast was defenseless, the last relatively combat-ready units were being pulled towards Stockholm. Sweden could not repulse even a fairly small landing.
On May 30 (June 10), the Swedish commissioners asked Petersburg to stop hostilities. On June 7 (18), the Swedes proposed to conclude a preliminary peace treaty. Peter considered that this was another attempt to stall for time and refused. Seeing that the Swedish side continues to fuss, on July 30 (August 10), Peter ordered M. Golitsyn to go with the entire galley fleet and landing forces to the Aland Islands. At the end of August, 124 galleys under the command of Golitsyn went to Aland and conducted reconnaissance off the coast of Sweden. The signal was understood. Russian troops were ready to capture Stockholm.
On August 30 (September 10), 1721, in the city of Nystadt, a peace treaty was signed between the Kingdom of Russia and Sweden, which ended the Northern War of 1700-1721. Between the parties, "eternal true and inviolable peace on land and on water" was established. Sweden gave Russia "in perfect unquestioning eternal possession and property" Estonia, Ingermanlandia, Livonia, part of Karelia with the Vyborg district, the cities of Riga, Pernov, Revel, Derpt, Narva, Ezel and Dago islands. For these territories, the Russian kingdom paid Sweden compensation in the amount of 2 million Efimks (1.3 million rubles). Finland was returned to Sweden. The agreement provided for the exchange of prisoners, amnesty for "criminals and defectors" (except for the supporters of Ivan Mazepa). In addition, the agreement confirmed all the privileges granted to the Eastsee nobility by the Swedish government: the German nobility and the Baltic cities retained their self-government, estate bodies, etc.
The signing of the peace treaty in Nystadt. August 30, 1721. Engraving by P. Schenk. 1721 year.
